Monthly Archives: December 2012

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A Thrilling Giveaway

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7th son deceit JC Hutchins — mentor, friend, and author — is doing something awesome. He’s giving away a signed print copy of his book 7th Son: Descent if you buy either of its sequels in e-book form. I’ve got my copy of the print book from its first run. So I’m here to do a giveaway of my own.

Drop a comment here. I will choose two people from the comments and buy them a copy of 7th Son: Deceit, the second book in the series. JC will then send you the print copy of the first book. You’ll then have more than enough reason (I hope) to buy the third book. This opportunity evaporates at the close of the old year, 12/31/12 at 11:59:59 PM.

Need a teaser? Here’s the skinny on what the series is about!

As America reels from the bizarre presidential assassination committed by a child, seven men are abducted from their normal lives and delivered to a secret government facility. Each man has his own career, his own specialty. All are identical in appearance. The seven strangers were not born, but grown — unwitting human clones — as part of a project called 7th Son.

The government now wants something from these “John Michael Smiths.” They share the flesh as well as the implanted memories of the psychopath responsible for the president’s murder. The killer has bigger plans, and only these seven have the unique qualifications to track and stop him. But when their progenitor makes the battle personal, it becomes clear John Alpha may know the seven better than they know themselves…

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Review – One Way (Podcast)

OneWayCover_Plain_Half Today I’m reviewing One Way, an audiobook/podcast novel by Jeff Lane. You can go to his site here or follow him on Twitter at WriterJeffLane. This book falls into the thriller/sci fi genre, though more the former and less the latter. It deals with time travel but in a way that’s, to my mind, more fantasy than SF.

Synopsis: Barry Griffith doesn’t know it yet, but tonight is the night fate has chosen to be the night of his death… his murder.
At a gas station in the middle of nowhere, late at night, his wife Jenny appears… no car… no coat and looking older than when he saw her last. That’s because this is not the woman he received a good-bye kiss from this morning. This woman has been a widow for over four years and has made an impossible journey back in time to try to stop her husband’s murder.
Will they be able to escape the killers or does fate only have one plan… one possible outcome… ONE WAY?

Production: I listened to most of this over my car stereo (as I’m doing increasingly these days, but it was also in the ear buds. In both cases the audio is clean. I don’t recall any repeats. He uses music that’s appropriate to set mood. Occasionally the volume of the music is much louder than the spoken parts. That made me have to fiddle with volume a bit.

Grade: B+

Cast: Jeff did this as what I think I’ll call a dramatized read. Each character got their own voice, but it was all done by Jeff. Overall he did a good job, though he did an Indian accent that was a little too stereotypical.

Grade: B

Story: There’s a lot of jumping around in this. The story is told from multiple points of view, which for some can be off putting (and not just two or three POV characters). It’s also takes place in multiple timelines. The chapters more or less alternate between Barry in the “now” and Jenny in his future as she prepares to make the trip back in time. That jarred me a little at first, but as both timelines built to their climax, I kinda dug it. As we approached the end, there was one other thing that w rankled me a little. It suffers from the LOTR ending. Jeff ties up every single last loose end. This results in the end chapters being a little choppy and the overall feeling that it drug on. He also plays hard on the “is he dead YET?!?!” thing that you see in more than one slasher flick.

So was it any good? Yes. These few problems aside (and YMMV as to how problematic those problems are), this was a solid story, well told. I do like his vision of time travel, it being a more natural phenomenon. The most fun he has is with the “can you change the past?” question. I won’t give away his answer, but it left me satisfied.

Grade: B-

Verdict: I believe this is Jeff’s first podcast novel. He’s got two more: This Paper World and Crush Depth. I’ll be checking them out in that order. One Way and Crush Depth are available at Podiobooks. I didn’t stray from it once I started listening, though other podcasts beckoned. Well worth checking out.

Grade: B

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Review – Scrolls (Podcast)

Today I’m dropping a review of the podcast novella Scrolls. It’s part of Paul E. Cooley’s continuing Garaaga’s Children series. It’s a blend of psychological horror and historical fiction. The podcast can be downloaded here and you can download it as an unabridged audio book and e-book here.

Synopsis: Rashim the Hunter killed the beast.

The Keepers kept the legend alive.

The Macedonians uncovered the ancient book.

And now, in the Library of Alexandria, the greatest storehouse of human knowledge, one scribe discovers the truth about the god Garaaga–this is not a legend.

Scrolls, volume four in the Garaaga’s Children saga, ties together the previous tales in a fiery conclusion.

Production: Paul, as usual, does a straight read. His gravely voice is put through its paces as he lends each character its own voice. He does a fine job of that. The sound is clean as always and there are minimal sound effects.

Grade: B+

Cast: Straight read by Paul

Grade: B+

Story: The thing I appreciate about Paul and this series is that he’s doing something fresh. He’s built an alternate history (at least I hope so) and is examining places and times that few if any authors are. To that mix he’s added his own horrific twist in the guise of this demi-god Garaaga and his offspring. This tale is takes place in Alexandria and he imagines what the great library could have been like. I found the whole thing believable. I certainly can’t speak to the historicity of it, but it strikes me that he’s done his research. More important than that to me is the fact that this is a tight story filled with good characters. This is less about the blood and gore and more about a search for truth and the dark places that can take you. The horror here is more about the things people are willing to do to one another to advance an agenda and one man’s fear and how he faces it.

Grade: A-

Verdict: It’s no secret that I love Paul and his work. Even if you aren’t into horror per se you might think about checking this series out. It’s not about psycho killers, evil supernatural forces, or cannibalistic freaks. While those elements are here (It’s Paul after all) he’s stretching out into other genres and you may enjoy this even if his other works aren’t your cuppa. And hey, it’s free. You’d benefit from going back to listen to all of the entries in this series (though I don’t know that it’s required). I hope you enjoy it!

Grade: B++

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Referral Contest Winners And Update

The numbers are in and Keith Hughes and Doc Coleman are the top referrers among all of the Way of the Gun followers so far. For their EPIC work they will each recieve a copy of Justin Macumber’s e-book as yet unreleased novel A MINOR MAGIC (due out December 17). Congratulations!

Now, it’s important to note that while they sent us a lot of traffic, no one pledged as a result of following their link. So I’m leaving the print book copy up for grabs. If you have (or register for) an Indiegogo login and use Indiegogo tools to share this campaign with Facebook friends, Twitter followers, or denizens of the many social media platforms you’re part of (you can find these tools just under the video at http://www.indiegogo.com/WayOfTheGun) the Indiegogo site will attach your unique ID to it. This is how we can track referrals.

For every person who funds the project thanks to your referral you will earn an entry in the random drawing for the signed paperback copy. The more funders you refer, the greater your chances of winning! This great opportunity is open to anyone who pledges at any level. I will close entries when the deadline for the fund raiser ends, in just six days. Just use your Indiegogo account and make sure your referral uses your link to contribute to our campaign. Good luck!!